Iran War Crimes Probe
Geneva
A United Nations fact-finding mission has said there are reasonable grounds to believe US forces were responsible for two military strikes in Iran in February that constituted war crimes, while also accusing Iranian authorities of crimes against humanity during a crackdown on anti-government protests.
The findings were contained in a report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which is due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The investigation examined US military conduct during the Iran war that began in February and the Iranian government’s response to nationwide protests that erupted in late December.
The UN experts said they had reasonable grounds to believe US forces were responsible for a strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab. Iranian officials said more than 150 people were killed, including about 120 schoolchildren. The mission described the attack as indiscriminate and said the school was a clearly identifiable civilian object, with no evidence it was being used for military purposes.
The report said US forces failed to adequately update targeting information and confirm that the building was a military objective. Investigators concluded that the circumstances went beyond simple negligence.
The mission also examined a strike on a sports centre in Lamerd that damaged nearby homes and a school and killed or injured 22 civilians. It concluded the attack was indiscriminate. US Central Command has previously said American forces did not conduct strikes in Lamerd that day.
Separately, the mission said Iranian authorities carried out a widespread and systematic attack against civilians during the protests, involving unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and restrictions on freedom of expression.
